The Los Angeles Lakers currently boat a trio of big men that have dominated the paint throughout the postseason. They clashed with Jusuf Nurkic in Portland, no problem; they easily eliminated the Rockets and their small-ball lineup winning every rebound in the paint and now with the Miami Heat, things aren’t looking different.
The Heat had a great Game 3 on Sunday night with Jimmy Butler going off with a 40-point triple-double, but that doesn’t change the fact that the size difference between both teams is considerable. Anthony Davis is once again a huge presence in the paint and the Heat didn’t have a response for him during the first two games of the series. It was so unfair that Tristan Thompson even said Game 1 was like a ‘Varsity vs. JV’ type of game.
During a recent interview on ‘The Herd,’ TT had some interesting things to say about the first clash of the Finals. Colin Cowherd asked him if he was surprised by the Lakers’ dominance and Tristan made some big comments.
“Yeah, most definitely. I know going to this series, I knew AD had to be a big factor but I didn’t realize, you know with Dwight Howard and AD on the court against Bam [Adebayo] and Jae Crowder I was like ‘man, this is like men versus boys.’ Dwight Howard is dumping it out, getting assists, which I’ve never seen Dwight Howard really do. To AD just play big for big, it was just like Varsity vs. JV. He’s just getting and-ones, offensive rebounds like Lord Jesus,” Thompson said with a smile on his face.
Disrespectful 💀
(via @TheHerd) pic.twitter.com/VShidHIQCs
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 4, 2020
Truth to be told, the Lakers were that dominant in Game 1 and Game 2. The Heat were lost on the court, trying to find an answer for AD and it never came. In Game 3 things changed a little, but the general thought is that the Lakers will be once again that dominant team in the paint. Losing Bam Adebayo didn’t help the Heat and even though he’s close to returning, nothing assures that he will be as helpful as the team needs him to be.
